USS Arizona Memorial part of tri-state WW2 national monument

By Chris Bailey Dec 11, 2008

With the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor still fresh in the minds of Americans this week, President George W. Bush proclaimed nine historic sites in three states a unified national monument. A number of spots around the Pearl Harbor area are included, along with sites in California and Alaska.

Noticeably absent from the list are the actual USS Arizona and USS Utah battleships. They will not be designated as part of the national monument to allow for the Department of Defense to retain control of the vessels.

Being selected as a national monument generally increases a site’s protection and visibility. The National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will manage the Valor in the Pacific Monument.

Among the other sites listed: Northern California’s Tule Lake, which once housed Japanese-American internment camps, and three of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, including the site of the only land battle fought in North America during World War II.